Bicycle rack

ABSTRACT

A bicycle rack particularly adapted for use in combination with an externally mounted spare tire on a vehicle, such as a recreational, motor home, or van type vehicle, the rack incorporating means for releasably mounting the rack on the spare tire without requiring the use of tools and means for releasably supporting one or more bicycles on the rack with the bicycles in a fully assembled condition.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This application is a continuation-in-part of the applicant's co-pendingapplication, Ser. No. 06/279,717, filed July 2, 1981, for Bicycle Rack,now abandoned.

This invention relates to bicycle racks, and, more particularly, to animproved bicycle rack particularly adapted for use in combination withan exteriorly mounted spare tire on a vehicle whereby one or morebicycles may be transported in a fully assembled condition by thevehicle. Bicycle racks embodying the present invention have particularutility in mounting bicycles on exteriorly mounted spare tires such asare commonly employed on recreational vehicles, motor homes, van typevehicles and other vehicles, although it will be understood that thepresent invention is applicable to other uses.

Heretofore various bicycle racks have been provided for mountingbicycles on automotive vehicles for bicycle transportation purposes. Forexample, it has been a common practice to provide bicycle carriers whichare adapted to be secured to the front or rear bumpers of the automotivevehicles. U.S. Pat. No. 2,379,994 discloses such a bumper mountedbicycle carrier. It has also been a common practice to mount bicycles onracks secured to the roofs of automotive vehicles, the racks supportingthe bicycles in either a horizontal or vertical position. However, priorbicycle racks of the indicated character are subject to a number ofdeficiencies. For example, bicycles mounted on carriers secured to thefront bumper of a vehicle often tend to block or diminish the lightemanating from the headlights of the associated vehicle and bumpermounted carriers often cannot be mounted on the rear bumper ofrecreational, motor home, van type and other vehicles because ofexteriorly mounted spare tires which interfere with and obstructmounting of the carriers and bicycles. In addition, it is awkward anddifficult to secure bicycles to racks which are mounted on the roofs ofvehicles, and racks which support the bicycles in an upright or verticalposition on the roofs of the vehicles often generate clearance problemswhich may be presented by low hanging branches of trees encountered inresidential areas or on rural roads. Moreover, prior bicycle carriers ofthe indicated character are often relatively expensive, burdensome toinstall on or remove from the associated vehicles, and usually requirethe use of tools to effect installation and removal.

An object of the present invention is to overcome the above as well asother disadvantages in prior bicycle racks or carriers of the indicatedcharacter and to provide an improved bicycle rack incorporating improvedmeans for releasably mounting the rack on an exteriorly mounted sparetire on a vehicle and improved means for releasably supporting one ormore bicycles on the rack with the bicycles in a fully assembledcondition.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved bicycle rackthat may be easily and quickly installed on and removed from anexteriorly mounted vehicle spare tire with a minimum of time, labor andexpense, and without requiring the use of wrenches or other tools.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved bicycle rackwhich may be easily mounted on an exteriorly mounted spare tire on avehicle and which may be easily and quickly adjusted to accommodatespare tires of various sizes.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedbicycle rack that is relatively simple in construction, economical tomanufacture and assemble, durable, efficient and reliable in operation.

The above as well as other objects and advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent from the following description, theappended claims and the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a bicycle rack embodying the presentinvention, showing the same installed on an exteriorly mounted sparetire on a vehicle;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the rack illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the rack illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the rack illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an elevational view of the rack and spare tire illustrated inFIG. 1, and showing a bicycle mounted on the rack;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention,showing the same installed on an exteriorly mounted spare tire on avehicle;

FIG. 7 is an elevational view of the rack illustrated in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 7, takenon the line 8--8 thereof;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 8, takenon the line 9--9 thereof;

FIG. 10 is a side elevational view of the rack illustrated in FIG. 6;

FIG. 11 is a top plan view of the rack illustrated in FIG. 6; and

FIG. 12 is an elevational view of the rack and spare tire illustrated inFIG. 6, and showing a bicycle mounted on the rack.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to the drawings, one embodiment of the invention isillustrated in FIGS. 1 through 5 thereof, and is comprised of a bicyclerack, generally designated 10, which is particularly adapted for use inconjunction with an exteriorly mounted spare tire 12 such as is commonlyutilized on recreational vehicles, motor homes, van type vehicles andother automotive vehicles, the spare tire 12 being mounted exteriorly onthe vehicle 15 by any desired or conventional means (not shown). Asshown in the drawings, the rack 10 is comprised of a horizontallydisposed support section 14 which is of generally U-shapedconfiguration, and a vertically disposed base section 16 which is ofgenerally inverted isosceles triangular configuration, the horizontallydisposed support section 14 and the vertically disposed base section 16being integrally joined together to form a unitary structure as will bedescribed hereinafter in greater detail.

The horizontally disposed support section 14 is preferably formed of asingle steel rod or other suitable material having sufficient strengthto withstand the forces exerted thereon and is bent into theconfiguration illustrated in the drawings so as to include a pair oflaterally spaced, horizontally extending, substantially parallel arms 18and 20, and a transverse portion 22 which extends between the arms invertically spaced relationship with respect thereto, the transverseportion 22 being integrally joined to the arms 18 and 20 by verticallyextending segments 24 and 26. By way of example, the rod forming thesupport section 14 may be approximately five-eights inch in diameter,and the transverse portion 22 may be vertically offset from the arms bya distance of approximately two inches. The free end portions 28 and 30of the arms 18 and 20, respectively, preferably extend angularlyupwardly and form abutment stops which limit movement of bicycle framessupported by the arms 18 and 20 as will be described subsequentlyhereinafter. The total length of each of the arms 18 and 20 may be, forexample, approximately twenty-one inches and the distance between thearms may be approximately twenty inches.

The vertically disposed base section 16 of the rack 10 is comprised of ahorizontally extending rod 32 and oppositely angularly extending rods 34and 36 the axes of which are disposed in the same plane as the axis ofthe rod 32. The rods 32, 34 and 36 are also preferably formed of steelor other suitable material having sufficient strength to withstand theforces exerted thereon and may be approximately one-half inch indiameter. The opposite end portions of the horizontally extending rod 32are welded or otherwise fixed to the arms 18 and 20 at a positionintermediate the ends thereof whereby the rod 32, the vertically offsettransverse portion 22, the vertical segments 24 and 26, and the portionsof the arms 18 and 20 disposed between the rod 32 and the verticalsegments 24 and 26 define an opening 38, the width of the opening beingslightly greater than the width of the spare tire with which the rack isto be associated while the length of the opening 38 may be approximatelyone-half to two-thirds of the maximum diameter of such spare tirewhereby the rack 10 may be fitted over the upper end portion of thespare tire as illustrated so that the portions of the arms 18 and 20disposed between the rod 32 and the vertical segments 24 and 26 engagethe periphery of the spare tire, or the tire cover, while the verticalsegments 24 and 26 and the transverse portion 22 engage one side wall ofthe tire and the rod 32 engages the opposite side wall of the sparetire.

The rod 36 extends angularly downwardly to the apex of the triangledefined by the vertical base section 16, and the end portion of the rod36 adjacent such apex is bent outwardly to form a tang portion 40 theaxis of which extends in a direction substantially parallel to the axesof the arms 18 and 20. Such tang portion may be, for example,approximately one inch long. The upper end portion of the rod 36 iswelded or otherwise fixed to the arm 20 and the adjacent end of the rod32 in the area of the junction of the rod 32 with the arm 20 while thelower end portion of the rod 36 adjacent the inner end of the tangportion 40 is welded to the lower end portion of the angularly extendingrod 34 and the opposite end portion of the rod 34 is welded to the arm18 and the rod 32 in the area of the junction of the rod 32 with the arm18. With such a construction, the support section 14 and the basesection 16 are integrally joined together to form a unitary structure.The length of the rods 34 and 36, excluding the tang portion 40, may beslightly less than the maximum diameter of the spare tire.

When the rack 10 is fitted over the upper end portion of the spare tire12 as illustrated, the vertically disposed base section 16 is situatedadjacent the outer wall 41 of the spare tire, or the tire cover, as thecase may be, and the rack is retained in such position on the spare tirethrough the agency of a pair of conventional resilient shock straps 42and 44, the shock strap 42 having conventional metallic hooks 46 and 48fitted to the opposite ends thereof while the shock strap 44 hasmetallic hooks 50 and 52 fitted to the opposite ends thereof. After therack 10 has been fited over the upper end of the spare tire 12 asillustrated, the hook 46 is engaged with the tang 40 and the shock strap42 is passed under and up behind the spare tire 12 and the hook 48engaged with the rod 32. The hook 50 is also engaged with the tang 40and the shock strap 44 is passed under and up behind the spare tire 12and the hook 52 engaged with the rod 22 of the rack 10. Such aconstruction serves to hold the rack 10 firmly on the spare tire 12 inthe position illustrated. It will be understood that straps, ropes orother means could also be utilized to hold the rack firmly on the sparetire.

The horizontally disposed portions of the arms 18 and 20 situatedbetween the rod 32 and the abutments 28 and 30 may then be utilized tosupport the frames of one or more bicycles as illustrated, the frames ofthe bicycles being secured to the rack 10 or the bumper of the vehiclethrough the agency of additional shock straps constructed in a mannersimilar to the manner in which the shock straps 42 and 44 areconstructed. In the alternative, straps, ropes or other means may beutilized to secure the bicycles to the rack or bumper.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that the rack 10 may be easilyand quickly mounted on the spare tire 12 without requiring the use ofwrenches or other tools, and that the bicycles, in a fully assembledcondition, may be easily mounted on and removed from the arms 18 and 20of the rack 10 with a minimum of time and labor. Also, if desired, therods which comprise the rack 10 may be coated with plastic or othersuitable material to minimize the possibility of scratching or marringthe bicycles.

Another embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIGS. 6 through 12and is comprised of a bicycle rack, generally designated 110, which isalso adapted for use in conjunction with the exteriorly mounted sparetire 12 which, as previously mentioned, is of the type commonly utilizedon recreational vehicles, motor homes, van type vehicles and otherautomotive vehicles, such as the vehicle 15 as previously described. Asshown in FIGS. 6 through 12, the rack 110 is comprised of a horizontallydisposed support section 114 which is of generally U-shapedconfiguration, and a vertically disposed base section 116 which is ofgenerally H-shaped configuration. In this embodiment of the invention,the horizontally disposed support section 114 and the verticallydisposed base section 116 are releasably and adjustably joined together,as will be described hereinafter in greater detail, whereby the rack 110may be easily and quickly assembled and/or disassembled, as for storagepurposes, without requiring the use of wrenches or other tools, and therack 110 may also be easily and quickly adjusted to accommodate sparetires of various sizes.

The horizontally disposed support section 114 is preferably formed ofsteel rod or other suitable material having sufficient strength towithstand the forces exerted thereon and is bent into the configurationillustrated in the drawings so as to include a pair of laterally spaced,horizontally extending, substantially parallel arms 118 and 120, and atransverse portion 122 which extends between the arms in verticallyspaced relationship with respect thereto, the transverse portion 122being integrally joined to the arms 118 and 120 by angularly extendingsegments 124 and 126. By way of example, the rod forming the supportsection 114 may be approximately five-eights inch in diameter, and thetransverse portion 122 may be vertically offset from the arms by adistance of approximately one inch. The free end portions 128 and 130 ofthe arms 118 and 120, respectively, preferably extend angularly upwardlyand form abutment stops which limit movement of bicycle frames supportedby the arms 118 and 120. The total length of each of the arms 118 and120 may be, for example, approximately twenty-one inches and thedistance between the arms may be approximately eighteeen inches.

In this embodiment of the invention, a pair of connector pins 132 and134 are provided which are fixed to the central sections of the arms 118and 120, respectively. Each of the connector pins 132 and 134 includes apair of spaced, horizontally disposed segments 136 and 138 integrallyjoined by an angularly inclined segment 140. The segments 136 of each ofthe connector pins 132 and 134 are preferably fillet welded to theadjacent arm 118 or 120, the fillet weld extending completely around thejunction of the segment 136 with the associated arm 118 or 120. Withsuch a construction, the segment 138 of each of the connector pinsextends in spaced parallel relationship with respect to the associatedarm 118 or 120 of the support section 114. The connector pins 132 and134 are adapted to be received in connector sleeves 142 and 144,respectively, provided on the base section 116 as will be describedhereinafter in greater detail.

In this embodiment of the invention, a pair of catch members 146 and 148are also provided which are welded or otherwise fixed to the arm 118 and120, respectively, at a position approximately midway between theconnector pins 132 and 134 and the transverse portion 122. The catchmembers 146 and 148 project outwardly from the sides of the arms 118 and120 and define passageways such as 150 adapted to receive metallic hookssuch as 152 and 154 fixed to the opposite ends of a conventional shockstrap 156, the shock strap being utilized to releasably secure a bicycleto the rack 110 by passing the shock strap over a suitable portion ofthe frame of the bicycle and engaging the hooks 152 and 154 in thepassageway 150 of the associated catch member 146 or 148.

The vertically disposed, generally H-shaped base section 116 of the rack110 is comprised of a horizontally extending rod member 158 and a pairof leg members 160 and 162 which are also preferably formed of rods andthe axes of which are disposed in the same plane as the axis of the rodmember 158. The leg member 160 includes oppositely angularly inclinedsegments 164 and 166 while the leg member 162 includes oppositelyangularly inclined segments 168 and 170. The segments 164 and 168 of thelegs 160 and 162, respectively, are preferably formed integrally withthe horizontally extending rod member 158 while the lower end portionsof the segments 166 and 170 are preferably welded or otherwise fixed tothe horizontally extending rod member 158 as illustrated in thedrawings. The base section 116 is also preferably formed of steel rodsor other suitable material having sufficient strength to withstand theforces exerted thereon. By way of example, the horizontally extendingrod member 158 and the segments 164 and 168 of the leg members may beapproximately one-half inch in diameter while the segments 166 and 170may be approximately five-eights inch in diameter.

The connector sleeves 142 and 144 are welded or otherwise fixed to theupper end portions of the segments 166 and 170 of the leg members andare adapted to slidably receive the connector pins 132 and 134. Withsuch a construction, the transverse portion 122, the angularly extendingsegments 124 and 126, the portions of the arms 118 and 120 disposedbetween the horizontally extending rod member 158 and the transverseportion 122, and the rod member 158 define an opening 172 adapted toreceive the upper end portion of a spare tire. The width of the opening172 may be adjusted to accommodate tires of various widths by slidinigthe connector sleeves 142 and 144 on the associated connecting pins 132and 134 within the range afforded by the length of the segments 138 ofeach of the connecting pins. It will be noted that the connectingsleeves are longitudinally offset with respect to the associated legsegments 166 and 170 and, if desired, the base section 116 may bereversed end for end from the position illustrated in the drawings sothat the connecting sleeve 144 engages the connecting pin 132 while theconnecting sleeve 142 engages the connecting pin 134 so as to furtherincrease the distance between the transverse portion 122 and thehorizontally extending rod member 158 to accommodate tires of varyingwidths. By way of example, the base section 116 may be adjusted relativeto the horizontally disposed support section 114 whereby the distancebetween the transverse portion 122 and the horizontally extending rodmember 158 may be adjusted to accommodate tires having a width in therange between six inches and nine inches. The length of the opening 172may be approximately one-half to two-thirds of the maximum diameter ofthe spare tire whereby the rack 110 may be fitted over the upper endportion of the spare tire as illustrated in the drawings so that theportions of the arms 118 and 120 disposed between the transverse portion122 and the horizontally extending rod member 158 of the base sectionengage the periphery of the spare tire, or the tire cover, while thesegments 124 and 126 and the transverse portion 122 engage one side wallof the tire and the horizontally extending rod member 158 engages theopposite side wall of the tire. In this embodiment of the invention, apair of catch members 174 and 176 are also provided which are welded orotherwise fixed to the segments 164 and 168 adjacent the free endsthereof. The catch members 174 and 176 define passageways, such as 178,adapted to receive metallic hooks, such as 180 and 182, fixed toconventional shock straps.

When the rack 110 is fitted over the upper end portion of the spare tireas illustrated in the drawings, the vertically disposed base section 116is situated adjacent the outer wall of the spare tire, or tire cover, asthe case may be, and the rack 110 is retained in such position on thespare tire though the agency of conventional resilient shock strapshaving conventional metallic hooks fitted to the opposite ends thereof,the hooks on the lower end portions of the shock straps engaging thecatch members 180 and 182 with the shock straps passing under andcrossing up behind the spare tire 12 so that the metallic hooks at theopposite ends of the shock straps may be engaged with the transverseportion 122 of the horizontally disposed support section 114. Such aconstruction serves to hold the rack 110 firmly on the spare tire in theposition illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 12 of the drawings. It will beunderstood, however, that straps, ropes or other means may also beutilized to hold the rack 110 firmly on the spare tire.

The horizontally disposed portions of the arms 118 and 120 extendingoutwardly beyond the base section 116 may then be utilized to supportthe frames of one or more bicycles as illustrated in FIG. 12, the framesof the bicycles being secured to the rack 110 or the bumper of thevehicle through the agency of shock straps having metallic hook portionssuch as 152 and 154 at the opposite ends thereof engageable with thecatch members 146 and 148 in the manner previously described. In thealternative, straps, ropes or other means may also be utilized to securethe bicycles to the rack 110.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that the rack 110 may beeasily and quickly assembled and disassembled and may be easily andquickly mounted on the spare tire without requiring the use of wrenchesor other tools, and that bicycles in a fully assembled condition may beeasily mounted on and removed from the arms 118 and 120 of the rack 110with a minimum of time and labor. Also, if desired, the components ofthe rack 110 may be coated with plastic or other suitable material tominimize the possibility of scratching or marring the bicycles.

While preferred embodiments of the invention have been illustrated anddescribed, it will be understood that various changes and modificationsmay be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A bicycle rack particularly adapted for use withan exteriorly mounted spare tire on an automotive vehicle, said rackcomprising, in combination, a horizontally disposed support section anda vertically disposed base section, means connecting said supportsection and said base section together, said support section being ofgenerally U-shaped configuration and including a pair of laterallyspaced, horizontally extending arms and a transverse portion extendingbetween said arms in vertically spaced relationship with respectthereto, said base section including a horizontally extending memberdisposed in horizontally spaced relationship with respect to saidtransverse portion of said support section whereby a portion of a tiremay be received therebetween, said base section also including a pair ofoppositely angularly disposed members each having one end portionthereof connected to said support section.
 2. The combination as setforth in claim 1, the free end portions of said arms extending angularlyupwardly to form abutment stops.
 3. The combination as set forth inclaim 1 including resilient means for releasably securing said rack to aspare tire.
 4. The combination as set forth in claim 1, said arms andsaid transverse portion of said support section being formed of a singlecylindrical rod.
 5. The combination as set forth in claim 4, said basesection being formed of additional cylindrical rods including rodshaving a diameter less than the diameter of said single rod.
 6. Thecombination as set forth in claim 1 including means for releasablysecuring a bicycle to said support section.
 7. The combination as setforth in claim 1, said base section be releasably connected to saidsupport section.
 8. The combination as set forth in claim 1, said basesection being integrally joined to said support section.
 9. A bicyclerack particularly adapted for use with an exteriorly mounted spare tireon an automotive vehicle, said bicycle rack comprising, in combination,a horizontally disposed support section and a vertically disposed basesection, means connecting said support section and said base sectiontogether, said support section being of generally U-shaped configurationand including a pair of laterally spaced, horizontally extending,substantially parallel arms and a transverse portion extending betweensaid arms in vertically spaced relationship with respect thereto, saidtransverse portion being integrally joined to said arms by integralsegments, said base section including a horizontally extending memberdisposed in horizontally and vertically spaced relationship with respectto said transverse portion of said support section whereby said supportsection and said base section define an opening spaced from the freeends of said arms and adapted to receive a portion of a tire, said basesection also including a pair of oppositely angularly disposed memberseach having one end portion thereof connected to said support section.10. The combination as set forth in claim 9, the free end portions ofsaid arms extending angularly upwardly to form abutment stops.
 11. Thecombination as set forth in claim 9, said base section being releasablyconnected to said support section.
 12. The combination as set forth inclaim 9, said base section being integrally joined to said supportsection.
 13. In combination with an exteriorly mounted spare tire on anautomotive vehicle, a bicycle rack including a horizontally disposedsupport section and a vertically disposed base section, means connectingsaid support section and said base section together, said supportsection being of generally U-shaped configuration and including a pairof laterally spaced, horizontally extending, substantially parallel armsand a transverse portion extending between said arms in verticallyspaced relationship with respect thereto, said transverse portion beingjoined to said arms by integral segments, said base section including ahorizontally extending member disposed in horizontally and verticallyspaced relationship with respect to said transverse portion of saidsupport section whereby said support section and said base sectiondefine an opening spaced from the free ends of said arms and adapted toreceive a portion of said spare tire, said base section also including apair of oppositely angularly disposed members each having one endportion thereof connected to said support section.
 14. The combinationas set forth in claim 13, said base section being of generally invertedisosceles triangular configuration.
 15. The combination as set forth inclaim 13, said base section being of generally H-shaped configuration.16. The combination as set forth in claim 13, the free end portions ofsaid arms extending angularly upwardly to form abutment stops.
 17. Thecombination as set forth in claim 13, the length of said horizontallyextending member being approximately one-half to two-thirds the maximumdiameter of said spare tire.
 18. The combination as set forth in claim13, the length of said angularly disposed members being less than themaximum diameter of said spare tire.
 19. The combination as set forth inclaim 13 including resilient means connected to said support section andsaid base section to hold said rack firmly on said spare tire.
 20. Thecombination as set foprth in claim 13, said arms and said transverseportion of said support section being formed of a single cylindricalrod.
 21. The combination as set forth in claim 13, said base sectionbeing releasably and adjustably connected to said support section. 22.The combination as set forth in claim 13, said base section beingintegrally joined to said support section.